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The Dragon Reborn/Chapter 55
Summary : Rand al'Thor enters the Heart of the Stone in the Stone of Tear, where Callandor rests. The Forsaken Be'lal is waiting for him, tries taunting Rand into taking Callandor. Be'lal reveals some of the past of Lews Therin Telamon, and also tells Rand that Callandor is a sa'angreal that had been made at the end of the Age of Legends. When Rand doesn't take Callandor, Be'lal creates a sword using the One Power (made of black fire) and starts using force to drive him to do it. Rand creates a sword of his own (made of red flame), and fights back. Rand realizes that Be'lal is a true blademaster, and he is slowly driven towards Callandor by the Forsaken's superior skill. While they are fighting, Aiel and Defenders of the Stone enter the Heart of the Stone, and continue their battle. Rand, caught up in his fight, is unaware of his surroundings and trips over a dead body. Be'lal comes towards him, saying if Rand doesn't take Callandor, he will die. Moiraine Sedai suddenly appears, startling both Be'lal and Rand. Be'lal says he's surprised that she is alive still, then raises his free hand to destroy her with the One Power. But before he can complete his spell, Moiraine raises both her hands and shoots balefire, killing Be'lal. Moiraine tells Rand that Callandor is his birthright, and he should take it. Black lightning suddenly grabs Moiraine and hurls her across the floor. Ba'alzamon appears in the air, and tells Rand that he is going to die. Rand jumps to Callandor, and Ba'alzamon hits him with the True Power in mid-air. Rand though is still able to take Callandor in his hands. Rand is nearly driven mad from the amount of the Power the sa'angreal lets him wield, but he gains control. Rand turns to Ba'alzamon and says he's going to "finish it once and for all!" Ba'alzamon flees by Traveling to Tel'aran'rhiod, and Rand Travels himself to hunt for him. : Egwene al'Vere, within Tel'aran'rhiod, enters the dungeon of the Stone of Tear. Unsure which cell Nynaeve al'Meara and Elayne Trakand is in, she suddenly sees a flicker of a woman sitting on a bench down the hallway. Egwene realizes it's Amico Nagoyin, the Black Ajah Aes Sedai who is guarding the cell where the girls are held, and maintaining the shield that disallows them from touching the True Source. Amico is falling in and out of sleep with a ter'angreal that aids entering Tel'aran'rhiod in her hand. Egwene prepares a weave of Air to physically hold Amico, and a separate weave of Spirit to shield her from the One Power. When Amico flickers into Tel'aran'rhiod again, Egwene hits her with it, holding Amico in place. Egwene channels Earth into the cell's lock, destroying it, and swings the door open. She exits Tel'aran'rhiod. : Egwene awakes to find the cell door still shut, the shield still maintained on them all, but Amico bound. Egwene tries to fall asleep to enter Tel'aran'rhiod again, to find another way to break free. : Matrim Cauthon and Juilin Sandar enter the dungeon of the Stone of Tear. Mat sees Amico sitting on the bench, physically paralyzed but mentally awake. Juilin warns him that she is an Aes Sedai, but Mat risks it and takes the cell door key off her person. He unlocks the door next to Amico and flings it open. Nynaeve and Elayne are kneeling around Egwene, who is sleeping on the floor. Both are surprised to see Mat, but are not pleased he is there. Egwene wakes up, is surprised to see Mat as well, when they all see Juilin. They decide to deal with him later. The girls exit the cell. Seeing Amico, Nynaeve punches her in the face, knocking her unconscious. The shields disappear, and they embrace saidar. Nynaeve heals the other girls of their wounds. Mat starts criticizing Nynaeve for hitting a woman who couldn't protect herself, when he is lifted off the ground with the One Power. They reprimand him; Mat says they are ungrateful for his effort, and he is let down. The girls exit the dungeon to search for the other Black Ajah members, and Mat and Juilin follow, protecting them from getting hurt. : Perrin Aybara is still in the Wolf Dream trying to rescue Faile from her hedgehog slumber. He has found her several times, but each time it is an illusion he rescues, not the real Faile. Perrin sees someone he thinks could be Rand but can't believe Rand would be in the Wolf Dream. Perrin is becoming weak from being too fully in the dream. Hopper leads Perrin to another set of doors and says "beyond here". He pounds his hammer against the doors and on the third swing the doors shatter like glass. Faile is chained to a perch. When Perrin tries to free her, many falcons in the room attack him. He finally reaches the chain and snaps it with his hands. : Perrin wakes up in the real world, laying on the floor of the private dining room of the Star inn, in pain. Faile is wiping blood off his face. They exchange some tender words, and look deeply into each other's eyes. : Rand is in the Heart of the Stone, but there are no men and there is no battle. He hears three loud sounds like a gong from Perrin rescuing Faile. Ba'alzamon shoots balefire at Rand, but the stream splits around Callandor. He chases Ba'alzamon and instinctively channels to protect himself from attacks. Only the enormous power he is able to channel allows him to survive. He plunges the blade into his foe's chest. : Suddenly Rand is out of Tel'aran'rhiod again, but he doesn't know how. Ba'alzamon is dead at his feet while the Aiel and Defenders continue their battle. Rand shouts "Stop! I am Rand al'Thor! I am the Dragon Reborn!" The fighting stops and the Aiel and Defenders alike kneel. Characters *Rand al'Thor *Be'lal *Moiraine Damodred *Lan Mandragoran *Ba'alzamon *Mat Cauthon *Juilin Sandar *Perrin Aybara *Faile Bashere *Egwene al'Vere *Elayne Trakand *Nynaeve al'Meara *Amico Nagoyin *Hopper (wolf) Referenced *Tam al'Thor as father *Joiya Byir *Verin Mathwin *Natti Cauthon as mother *Liandrin Groups *Aiel *Defenders of the Stone Places *The Star (inn) *Stone of Tear *''Tel'aran'rhiod'' Referenced *Falme *Taren Ferry *Remen Items *''Callandor'' Concepts One Power *''Sa'angreal'' *''Saidin'' *Balefire *''Callandor'' Sword Forms *Parting the Silk *Water Flows Downhill *Wind and Rain *The Falling Leaf *Watered Silk *Cat Dances on the Wall *The Boar Rushed Downhill *The River Undercuts the Bank *Stone Falls From the Mountain Notes * Subsequent printings of this book have the regular Dragon icon.